History

History

The origins of today's State Research Institute Centre for Innovative Medicine date back to 1945.

At that time, within the system of the then Lithuanian SSR Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Experimental Medicine and Oncology was established through the efforts and funds of abroad Lithuanians. At the time, it was the most important medical research institution in the Republic. The founder and first director of the institute was Professor Vytautas Girdzijauskas, MD, PhD (who led the institute from 1945 to 1956).

In 1957, after the Institute of Oncology separated, all activities of the Institute of Experimental Medicine were redirected toward addressing the etiology, pathogenesis, treatment, and prevention of rheumatic diseases. During this period (1957–1962), the institute was headed by Bronislovas Penkauskas, MD, PhD, and from 1964, by Professor Liubomiras Laucevičius, MD, PhD.

From 1966, the institute was named the Scientific Research Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine and belonged to the Ministry of Healthcare of the Lithuanian SSR. In 1970, Professor Alfonsas Matulis, MD, PhD, became the director of the institute and led it for 24 years (1970–1994). In 1994, his student, Professor Algirdas Venalis, Habil. Dr., became the head of the institute. Thanks to the efforts of this institute's staff, a harmonious system for combating rheumatic diseases was created in the republic.

IMC Activities After the Restoration of Independence

After Lithuania restored its independence, the institute continued its activities, but as a state research institution subordinate to the Ministry of Education and Science. In addition to traditional research on the pathogenesis mechanisms, diagnostics, and treatment efficacy of rheumatic diseases, new fields began to develop—including regenerative medicine, stem cell biology research, and evaluation of the application of photomedicine in rheumatology, among others. A new state approach to the prospects of Lithuanian science encouraged changes in the scientific system. As part of the optimization plan for Lithuanian science and studies, in 2002 the state Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine was reorganized into a university research institute—the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine of Vilnius University.

A new step toward strengthening and optimizing the field of biomedical research was taken in 2009, when, by Resolution No. 1794 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on December 23, 2009, the State Research Institute Centre for Innovative Medicine was established by merging the VU Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine with the VU Institute of Immunology.

The former VU Institute of Immunology—led from 1990 to 2006 by Prof. Habil. Dr. V. Tamošiūnas, and later by Dr. Mykolas Mauricas—was relatively young (established in 1990 as a state research institute, associated with the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences in 1996, and becoming the Institute of Immunology of Vilnius University in 2002), yet strong in the field of fundamental immunology research. It strengthened the experimental biology and medical research base of the newly established institute and expanded the scope of ongoing topics into new areas: research into the molecular and cellular patterns of immune function, as well as research into immune status functional activity and the factors affecting it.